Soil conditioner



May 19, 1953 R. A. KROPP son. conm'nomm .4 SheetekSheet 2 Original Filed April 13, 1944 All!!! El E2775!- 120g )4. Kropp H W k d urllllll 'IIIIIIIIlI/ll!rllllllllfllllffllllIIIIIIIIIIEIIIIIIIIIII viii!!! rrlllllllll rllllllillllllllfffilflfiFIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIG vl w W f R P M May 19, 1953 R. A. KROPP 2,633,330

SOIL CONDITIONER Original Filed April 15, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 .ZF'ZVEJVY'UJ" P by A Kra ap May 19, 1953 R. A. KROPP 2,638,330

V SOIL CONDITIONER Original Filed April 15, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ill-III 209 A. Era 0,0

Patented May 19, 1953 A.- Kropp River Forest, Ill, assignor to Kropp Forge Company, Qicero, 111., a corporationof Illinois Division of application Serial: No. 530,797,- April 13, 1944, now: Patent Nos 2,438,107. Continua.- tioir t application Serial No. 557,153, October 4, ;1944, now abandoned. This application Decamber 1-8, 1.947,. Serial No. 792,381

,copending application, Serial No. 530,797, filed April 13, 1944, now Patent'No. 2,439,707, and is a continuation or my copeiiding' application serial No. 557,153 filed October 4; 1944,, now abandoned.

An important object or the present invention resides in the provision or improve rota-rysoil conditioning apparatus by which is attained an unusiiauy thorough, uniform treatment 0! the soil area woi'kedupon'.

Another object of the invention is to" provide an improved rotary soil conditionerin' which the rotary soil dishitegratingnieans is supported and operated in anovel manner.

Still another object oft-he invention" is to provide in a rotary soil conditioner an improved soil breaking andt pnlveri'zing tine relationship which: will substantially avoid vibration and undue torsional stresses in" operation;

A further object of the invention: is toprovide in a rotary soil conditioner an improved soil breaking and pulveri'zine rotor structure and rotor drivingmeans'; v

A still further object or the present invention 'is to provide a rotary soii conditioner which has an improved soil conditioning, tined rotor and hood arrangement.

According to thegeneral" features of the invention, there isprovided in a soil conditionerineluding a power driven soil disintegrating rotor unit having meansfor pivotally connectingit to vehicle for movement towardand away from the ground, saidunitii'ieludingatransvers shaft and generally radial tines carried thereby and a curved hood extending longitudinally of the shaft, as Well asbeingcurved over the timesand open at the bottom for the times to proj ect therefrom into engagement with the ground; the: bottomedgeoi the hood'heiiig formetito bear against the ground when the unit is= pivoteddownwardly into operative position; each: time i hcluding a curved; free extremity terminatingkin apoint for digging andiscraping dirt lip-into the hood and a torsion spring, coil portion attached to: the shaft, said free tine extremity being formed into aigenorally; (fig-shape toaptogressively. enter the ground arcuateiy anctdrithe-xpreseiicekoi'the torsional tension; of? said, spring; portion said; hood? having? a.

yieldable rear door portion arranged to open outditioner;

2 Wardly against the pressure of accumulated dirt scraped up into the hood by the tines to prevent clogging of thedirt" in the hood, said door portion having a lower edge for smoothing out the dirt as it passesoverj the; ground.

According to other features of the invention, the times are staggered both lengthwise and circumierent'ially relative to the shaft so as to be active on and in the ground at diiier'ent times and points in the rotation. of the shaft in a manner to avoid harmonic vibratory" action and. jerky motionof the rotoiunit in operation.

According to other general features or the inv ntion there is provided in. a soil conditioning apparatus including a rotary soil disintegrator having a rotatabl driven shaft, means for driving said shaft inel u diiig a pair or" parallel shafts operaol'y connected to the respective opposite ends of'said clisintegrator shaft, and a' differential drive connecting said, pair of shafts, whereby in effect" half the driving power from the differential drive is transmitted to each of said pair of shafts, and in the event, of obstruction encountered by either end portion of the disintegrator shaft, such portion is afforded torque relief by operation of said differential drive acting to release from" drivihaforce at least momentarily the one'of said? pair of shafts which is operably connected' to the obstructed portion of the disinteof 'th'e cross arm and-extending therefrom in parallel relation; Said arms supporting said shaft, and means within said-cross arm and in said pivotaliy carried" arms for driving said shaft.

Other objects, features and advantages ofthe present invention will be readily apparent from the'following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof talieh in conjunction with the ao'co'iiipaiiig di awi-iigsi in which:

Figure; 1 is a: top plan view, partially in section, of a: soil conditioner: or tiller embodying the featui esofthepreserit invention;

Figure 2cis a front elevationalview, partially in section, of the; soil conditioner shownmin Figtire I;

I Figure 3: is a meteor less schematic, partially sectional, side elevational View ofthe soilcon- Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectiohal view .ditioner, it has a soil disintegrating rotor which is supported rotatably by a pair of arms the soil resistance.

taken substantially on the line IV-IV of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a detail side elevational view of one of the soil disintegrating tines used in the rotor assembly of the soil conditioner;

Figure 6 is an enlarged edge elevational view of a tine mounting plate and hub structure as used in the rotor of the unit;

Figure '7 is an end or face elevational view of the plate and hub of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line VIII-VIII of Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is a schematic elevational view illustrative of the staggered tine arrangement of the disintegrator rotor.

As shown on the drawings:

The present soil conditioner or tiller is of a width to treat a band of soil of substantial width as the conditioner travels over the soil and in the course of which it thoroughly digs and loosens the soil and disintegrates the same without packing the undistintegrated subsoil but actually advantageously roughening the surface thereof at the bottom of the cut made by the is constructed to be motivated by appropriate propelling means such as a tractor or an individually associated power unit vehicle,

As the principal operative feature of the con- N and I2 pivotally carried at the opposite ends of a cross arm or head l3 supported by a supporting arm or draft bar M. The latter may be coupled to or carried by a tractor or other powered vehicle for drawing or guiding the soil conditioner over a plot of ground to be treated,

tines is preferably identical for purposes of standardization and is of a character to enter efliciently and individually into digging, gouging,

disintegrating relation into the ground. To this Y end each of the tines I1 is of resilient, springy construction to yield resiliently to' a limited extent in response to soil resistance while digging so as to acquire a torsional spring load which .causes the same to leave the ground with a" whipping action as an incident to release from This resilient whipping action implements the soil breaking and disintegrating action by braking up clods that may be present. preferred material from which the tines H are made, and is formed to provide a generally hook-like c-shaped tine body l8 having a sharpened tip I!) of generally spade form, and a substantially ogee curved inner portion 20, the curvature of which is continued to provide a complete torsion spring loop or coil 2| terminating in a radially extending, U-shaped loop or hook formation 22. As best seen in Fig. 5, the hook loop 22 extends to the diametrically opposite side of the spring coil 2| from the curved body portion I8, and more particularly the cutting tip [9.

An annular series of the tines H, such as eight,

Resilient metallic rod stock is a v assembly I ll.

4 is secured as a unit to project radially from a mounting and attachment disc or plate 23 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8). The plate 23 has a series of recesses 24 in at least one face thereof of generally U-shape and opening'through the edge of the plate. Each of the recesses 24 is complementary to the hook loop formation 22 to receive the same fairly closely with the companion torsion coil 2| extending freely beyond the edge of the plate. To hold the end hooks 22 in the respective recesses 24, a clamping disk ring 25 is secured thereagainst by respective attachment bolts 21. Each of the bolts 21 extends through a bolt hole 28 centered through the plate 23 at each of the recesses 24 and in such manner that the shank of the bolt extends through the engaged tine attachment hook or loop 22. In this manner the tines I! are held in firm fixed, radially extending, uniformly and equally spaced, non-rocking relation to the mounting plate 23, As best seen in Fig. 4, the tines are all mounted with the soil disintegrating C-hook portions l8 thereof facing in the same direction. Thereby the C-hook portions are adapted to enter the ground successively and progressively in arcuate paths in the forward rotation of the supporting plate 23 and in the presence of the torsion spring tension of the loops 22.

For mounting the respective tine-carrying plates 23 upon the shaft l5, each of the plates is provided with an axial opening 29 and this opening is defined by a spacer hub 30 of a length such that when the desired series of tine units has been disposed coaxially on the shaft l5, a proper spaced relation will be maintained between the mounting plates 23 by the hubs engaging against the immediately adjacent plates in the series.

In order to hold the tine mounting plates 23 against rotation relative to the shaft I5, but to turn with the shaft, the plates 23'are appropriately keyed to the shaft. Herein, the keying ar y rangement is such that as an incident to mounting the tine-carrying plates 23 upon the shaft l5, the tines of the several tine units can be disposed in relative staggered relationship both lengthwise and circumferentially of the completed rotor To this end, each of the hubs3ll is formed with a pair of longitudinal keyway grooves or slots 3| which are disposed at opposite sides of the shaft opening 29, and with one of the key slots 3| offset appropriately such, for example, as 15 from the diameter on which the .other key slot 3| is disposed. Thus, b placing the tine mounting plates 23 with the key slots 3| l the tines are staggered both lengthwise and circumferentially of the rotor periphery. This is shown schematically in Figures 3 and 4 by the full and dash outline representations of the tines, and schematically in Figure 9 Where a single row 'of staggered tines is followed from end to end of the rotor. and which shows how the staggered arrangement afiords a spiral disposition of the tines.

By preference, the staggered arrangement of the tines I1 is such that the rows of tines con- .sidered longitudinally of the rotor extend on appreciable interim lags.

convergingtspirals, that is, with the successive sion spring coils 2|: thereof by resistance to passage of the tines through the soil, the successive emergence of the tines following closely one upon the other assures freedom from harmonic vibrations or ierkiness.

Improved means are provided for driving the soil disintegrating rotor is, such means being of a character to afford a, positive drive at both, ends oi the shaft Hi but with never more than 50% of the torsional driving force atv either end. Therefore, if the tines on one half of the shaft strike a non-yielding obstruction which increases the load on that particular half of the shaft, the power transmitted to the other half of the shaft will not have the full torsional force andload appl-ied thereto to thus increase the torauenpon theretor to. damaging magnitude.

To the attainment of these objectives, the shaft i5 has mounted oneach end thereof a. sprocket wheel 34 preferably formed with a hub 35' of substantial length and held for rotation with the shaft end portion such as splining 3-1, a reduced diameter threaded terminal 38 having a gear wheel retaining nut thereon. The hubs 3-5- are designed to be supported rotatably'by bearing assemblies Ml carried by respective bearing or journal sleeve flange formations H at, the inner sides of the lower or free end: portions of the pivoted arms it and it, the respective; splined ends of the shaft lawiththe gear wheels 34 thereon projecting throughthe bearing assemblies and to the interiors of the arms [2 iwhich, for-this purpose, are formed as hollow housings-s ()pposite the journal flange structures 4 I, that is in the outer walls of the housings providedbythe respective pivoted arms ll and 12 are provided respective access openings 42 which are covered closure plates 43.

Each of the sprocket wheels 3.4, has trained thereover a sprocket chain 4:4 meshing with a sprocket wheel or gear 45 mounted upon the outer end of an individual drive shaft 41 projecting into the upper or pivoted end portion ofthe. respective arms H or L2. As best seen in Fig. 2, the shaft 4.? is concentric with and disposed inthe hollow interior of the cross head or arm H-l- The gear wheel 45 may be in ring form with the outer end portion of the shaft. fll extending concentrically therethrough, and secured to the shaft as. by means of screw's'tfll by which a concentric radial terminal end flange 49 on the shaft end is. attached to the outer. end of thesprocket wheelhub.

Rotary support. for the ring gear wheel 45 is afforded by an anti-friction bearing assembly 50 which is, carried by a supporting sleeve extension 5 I of smaller diameter than and projecting rigidly from the end of the cross arm [3' into the hollow interior of the pivoted arm [1 01: 1'2, as the case may be.

A pivotal connection between the respective arms H andlZ and: the cross, arm F3 is effected in each instance by a hub'type flange 52 proture I 3.

ing head section 12.

looting inwardly from the upper end portion of theor m.- into telescopic relation to a smaller diameter terminalend portion 53 on the cross an appropriate: bearing 54 being interposed between the telescoped portions. An integral ra dial flange 55 on the cross arm limits inward movement of the hub flange 52 while a retaining ring or Washer 55 mounted concentrically about the tubular sleeve; extension 5i delimits axial outward movemen t of the telescoped portions and thus prevents separation of the respective armsfrom the cross head or arm struc- Opposite the hub flange- 521, each of the arms H and I2 is preferably formed with an access opening iii which is closed by a removable closure plate 53. i

A powerful, uniformly divided and in a sense individual drive for each of the'shafts 4'! is effected from a common source of motive power through the medium of a differential gear asthe gear 63- and housing a set of quadrilaterall-y meshing bevel pin-ions gears including coaxial opposing idlerpinions 65 ande'l with which mesh opposing coaxially disposed transmission bevel pinions wand 69 having the respective shafts 17 operatively connected therein through spline end portions in on the shafts.

Thus, rotary power from the shaft 61! is transmitted through thetransrnission to the shafts 41.

Should either half of the soil disintegrating rotor it! encounter a relatively non-yielding or slow yielding obstruction which the tines ll cannot bypass by laterally resilient yielding and which would tend to slow down the rotor or cause some structurethereof such as one or more of the tines l-lto yield or break, action of the gears in the transmission (iii, and more particularly the meshing bevel pinion-s in the cage W per-- mits that halfof the-rotor shaft [5 under resistance to slow down momentarily or at least to be relieved of driving force while the remaining half of the shaft Hi receives but half ofthe driving force imparted by the drive shaft Bil. This slight lagor driving torque relief in one portion of the rotor will "not beisufficient to developany appreciable twist "or damagingtorque therein, but will be suficient to relieve the driving force enough to permit movement of the rotor beyond the obstruction in the" forward movement of'the machine over theground. The transmission drive Gil therefore affords a sub stantial safety factor and relieves themechanism of damaging stresses or strains in service. it also assuresuniform normal driving force transmission to the opposite ends of the rotor since it automatically takes up or compensates 'for any unevenlaclc or other maladjustment in the chain drives;

For economy in fabrication, and requisite strength and rigidity with minimum weight, the cross head or arm I3 is preferably formed of a plurality of sections comprising a pair of similar coaxial, oppositely extending tubular arm sections "i I n and a central or transmission hous- Each of the-tubular sec arms I l and tions H is preferably formed of small diameter with reinforcing flanges or webs l3 longitudinally thereof between the respective lateral flanges 54 adjacent the outer extremities of the tubular sections and respective inner end lateral flanges M. The flanges 14 are secured as by means of screws or bolts 15 to the sides of the central housing section 12.

Defining an opening for the shaft Bl at the forward side of the central or head housing section 12 is a lateral flange structure T! which is arranged to receive thereagainst a lateral flange structure 18 on the supporting or draft arm 14, these flanges being secured together as by means of screws 19.

Since the arms II and [2 are supported pivotally by the cross arm l3, the rotor ID is adapted to be swung up and down away from and toward the ground about the pivotal axis formed by the cross arm 13. Appropriate means for effecting such movement may comprise one or more links or rods 80 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3), herein shown as a pair, respectively connected to the I2 at the forward sides thereof through the medium of appropriate clevis brackets ill on the arms. The opposite ends of the rods 80 may be connected to any appropriate means for operating the same (not shown, but comprising an operating lever or the like). Thus, when the machine is to be transported from place to place, or for any other reason the rotor is to remain above the ground level, the arms II and 12 are adapted to be swung through operation of the rods 80 rearwardly and upwardly and there held by the rods, and when the rotor is to be dropped into operative relation to the ground, the rods 80 are adapted to be released or moved forwardly a predetermined distance. By retaining the rods 80 in any given longitudinal position relative to the arms H and I2, the approach of the rotor I I to the ground, and more especially the depth to which the tines I! may dig into the ground up to their extreme limit can be controlled.

To supplement the soil disintegrating action of the tines l1, and to confine the soil tossed up by the tines in operation against scattering, as well as to afford means for returning tossed disintegrated soil to the strip of ground being treated and uniformly distributing and smoothing the same, a downwardly opening hood 82 is mounted over the rotor Ill. The hood is preferably formed from suitable gauge sheet metal of a, length to extend over the entire length of the tined portion of the rotor l0 and of a transverse convex curvature forming an inner concave tine-opposing surface of arcuate contour concentric with and in slightly spaced relation to the periphery of the rotor l0 as defined by the sweep of the digging points [9 of the tines. The hood is supported by flange plates 83 extending inwardly from the respective inner sides of the pivoted arms H and I2 and formed of complementary arcuate shape to the hood, the flanges being preferably constructed integral with the respective arms and being reinforced by strut or gusset flanges 84 extending generally normal to the flanges 83 in the angle between the inner side wal1 of the pivoted arm and the hub 52. Means such as bolts 85 may be employed to secure the hood plate 82 to the supporting flanges 83.

As best seen in Figures 3 and 4, the forward edge of the hood 82 may be reinforced as by means of a turned under reinforcing bead or flange 81 and is located at an elevation. preferably in a plane above the axis of the shaft I5,

to avoid obstructing forward movement of the soil conditioning unit and more particularly the disintegrating rotor [0 over the ground in operation. At its rear edge, the hood preferably extends to a position normally below the shaft l5 and at the elevation predetermined with respect to the lengths of the tines I! to afford maximum digging penetration of the tines into the earth in operation. A turned under reinforcing flange or bead 88 is formed on the rear edge. Parallel end walls 89 on the hood are secured fixedly to the ends of the hood plate 82 and have respective lower edges 90 disposed coplanar on a line extending from the lower rear edge of the hood (Figs. 3 and 4) forwardly below the shaft l5 approximately equal to extension of the tine spring loops 2| and thence diagonally upwardly as at 9| to the forward reinforced edge 81 of the hood.

When the soil conditioner is in operative relation to the ground, the hood side plates 89 rest with the lower edges 90 thereof on the ground and acting as rotor unit supporting drags. The relationship of the edges 90 to the associated structure is such that they lie approximately horizontal when the rotor I0 is in ful1 operating relation to the ground being worked upon. From Figures 1 and 3, it will also be observed that the lower ends of the arms H and I2 extend to the plane of the hood edges 90 and also assist in supporting the assembly on the ground, the edges 90 being disposed approximately tangential to the arm ends which are preferably of rounded contour.

As the rotor is driven forwardly as indicated by directional arrows in Figure 3, the ground dug up by the tines I1 is broken and disintegrated and clods are tossed up into and against the hood 82 where impact tends to break them up and if the impact is insufficient, the close spacing of the tips 19 of the tines to the hood causes the clods to be broken up mechanically and whipped about until finely subdivided. The side edges 90 and the lower ends of the arms II and [2 limit the depth to which the tines ll may penetrate the ground.

As the machine advances, the reinforced rear edge 88 of the hood drags over the ground as shown in Fig. 3 and smooths the same. To implement this smoothing action, the lower rear portion of the hood is preferably concavely formed on an ogee curvature relative to the remainder of the hood, substantially as indicated at 92 to provide a rearward flare.

Inasmuch as at times dirt, weeds, trash, or the like may accumulate within the rear part of the hood to an extent that might tend to clog the tines l1 and impair or disrupt operation, the rear part of the hood is preferably formed as a door 93. This is swingable rearwardly and upwardly, substantially as indicated in dash outlineln Fig. 3, and is hinged to the upper and forward fixed portion of the hood as by means of end hinge assemblies 94 and a central hinge assembly 95 (Fig. 1). Ordinarily, the weight of the hinged door portion 93 of the hood will hold the same closed and in ground dragging position, however, when it is desired to gain access to the rotor, the door portion may be swung up, and when an undue accumulation of dirt or the like occurs at the rear of the rotor, the door may swing open under th pressure and thus relieve the clogging. Moreover, should there be an obstruction encountered which might tend to 9 catch on the rear edge 88 of the hood, the door 93 will swing open to escape such obstructions.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a soil conditioning apparatus including a rotary soil disintegrator having a single rotatably driven shaft, means for driving said shaft including a pair of substantially axially aligned shafts operably connected to the respective opposite ends of said disintegrator shaft, and a difierential drive connecting said pair of shafts, whereby in effect half the driving power from the differential drive is transmitted to each of said pair of shafts, and in the event of obstruction encountered by either end portion of the disintegrator shaft, such portion is afforded torque relief by operation of said differential drive acting to release from driving force at least momentarily the one of said pair of shafts which is operably connected to the obstructed portion of the disintegrator shaft.

2. In combination in a soil conditioning machine, a rotor having a uniform pattern of radially extending earth disintegrating tines uninterrupted throughout the tined carrying portion of the shaft so as to act uniformly upon a strip of ground to be treated, said rotor including a single shaft having its end portion projecting beyond the tined portion thereof, arms supporting said end portions of the shaft, a cross arm structure pivotally supporting said arms, and means for driving said shaft including a differential power transmission structure having driving connections with the opposite ends of the shaft.

3. In combination in a soil disintegrating machine of the character described, a rotor having a single solid shaft with the opposite ends projecting beyond the ends of the rotor, supporting arms carrying said shaft ends, and means 10 connected to the shaft ends for driving the rotor including a differential gear assembly permitting relief of torsional stresses in either half of the rotor.

4. In combination in a soil conditioning machine of the character described, a rotor having a single solid shaft, the ends of the shaft having sprocket gears thereon, a differential gear assembly spaced laterally from the center of the rotor, a pair of drive shafts splined to said differential gear assembly and extending in opposite directions therefrom parallel to said rotor shaft, said drive shafts having sprocket gears on the remote ends thereof, and sprocket chains connecting the sprocket gears on the drive shaft and the adjacent sprocket gears on the rotor shaft.

5. In a power driven rotary soil conditioner having a soil disintegrating rotor assembly, a single rotor shaft and a differential drive having means operably connecting said drive to the respective opposite end portions of said rotor shaft for delivering substantially half the driving power from the differential drive to each of said rotor shaft end portions.

ROY A. KROPP.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,128,064 Senderling Feb. 9, 1915 1,271,319 Hotsinpiller July 2, 1918 1,291,772 Currier Jan. 2, 1919 1,573,551 Klausmeyer Feb, 16, 1926 1,778,334 Pedersen Oct. 14, 1930 1,843,119 Bussmann Feb. 2, 1932 1,878,442 Hamshaw Sept. 20, 1932 2,299,334 Matter Oct. 20, 1942 2,319,255 Norton May 18, 1943 2,341,486 Swertfeger Feb. 8, 1944 2,366,386 Clark Jan. 2, 1945 2,368,331 Seaman Jan. 3 0, 1945 2,370,777 Clark Mar. 6, 1945 2,438,189 Seaman Mar. 23, 1948 2,438,707 Kropp Mar. 30, 1948 2,442,731 Paul June 1, 1948 

